Office Hours

In this episode we talk with Osagie Obasogie [1], Professor of Law at University of California - Hastings. We talk about his book Blinded by Sight: Seeing Race Through the Eyes of the Blind [2]. In this book he asks: how do blind people understand race? By engaging in qualitative research with individuals who have been totally blind since birth, this project provides an empirical basis from which to rethink core assumptions embedded in social and legal approaches to race and discrimination. Download Office Hours #92 [3] [1] http://www.uchastings.edu/academics/faculty/facultybios/obasogie/index.php [2] http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=20242 [3] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH91_Obasogie.mp3

This week we talk with Lane Kenworthy [1], Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of Arizona. Lane studies causes and consequences of poverty, inequality, economic growth, and social policy in the United States and other affluent countries, and recently published Social Democratic America [2], a look at the current state of inequality in the U.S. and what can be done to fix it. We touch on a number of hot policy issues and discuss the role of the sociologist in producing relevant research and writing for public audiences. Download Office Hours #91 [3] [1] http://lanekenworthy.net [2] http://global.oup.com/academic/product/social-democratic-america-9780199322510?cc=us&lang=en&tab=description [3] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH92_Kenworthy.mp3

Three sociologists, an anthropologist and a political scientist walk into a bar…and the result is a new book on the state, and emerging new forms, of civic participation in contemporary America.  While we seem to be living an age marked by political apathy and growing distrust for government and political institutions, there also seems to be a growing set of opportunities for Americans to “get involved” and “make a difference” in society.   From new forms of grass roots activism, to the increasing importance that social media plays in organizing political movements, the ways Americans participate in social change have dramatically evolved even while pessimism toward politics has reached new historical lows. In the new book The Civic Imagination a group of ethnographers provide a detailed, account of how civically active Americans understand, talk and act on their different visions for social change.  Reporting on the ways that organizers envision their impacts on society, but also how they feel they have innovated new forms of participating, this multi-site ethnography challenges assertions that we live in a political age driven American apathy.  At the same time, this book reminds us of the limitations, if not blinders, of these new forms of political involvement, particularly revolving issues of inequality.  So before you download that new Social Justice mobile app, or organize your next Occupy event at the public library, take a listen to our interview with the authors of the Civic Imagination: Making a Difference in American Political Life Gianpaolo Baiocchi [1] is an Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University Elizabeth A. Bennett [2] is assistant Professor of International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College Alissa Cordner [3] is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Whitman College. Peter Taylor Klein [4] is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard College. Stephanie Savell [5] is a Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology at Brown University. Download Office Hours #90 [6] [1] http://ipk.nyu.edu/contacts/ipk-senior-fellows/93-gianpaolo-baiocchi [2] http://www.elizabethannebennett.com/ [3] http://www.alissacordner.com/ [4] http://brown.edu/academics/sociology/peter-klein [5] http://watson.brown.edu/gpd/portfolio/stephanie-savell/ [6] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH90_Civic_Imagination.mp3

This week we are joined by Matt Wray [1], a professor at Temple University, where he teaches sociology of race, culture, and health. Matt has researched suicide rates in Las Vegas [2], the city with the highest metropolitan suicide rate in the U.S. He is currently at work on a book about the “Suicide Belt” in the American West. In addition to his work on suicide, Matt has written extensively on the topic of whiteness [3] and white identity [4]. We discuss Matt’s current work on the Suicide Belt and explore the contributions sociologists can make to the study of suicide. Download Office Hours #89 [5] [1] http://www.temple.edu/sociology/wray/ [2] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.002 [3] http://www.amazon.com/Not-Quite-White-Boundaries-Whiteness/dp/0822338734 [4] http://www.amazon.com/White-Trash-Race-Class-America/dp/0415916925/ [5] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH89_Wray.mp3

This week we are joined by Samira Kawash to discuss her book Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure [1]. Samira is a professor emerita at Rutgers University. During our conversation we discuss the important but ignored place candy has occupied in the American conscious, the many shifting meanings attached to the sugary treats, and what can be learned from the increasingly blurred line between food and candy. You can read more of Samira's work at www.CandyProfessor.com [2]. Download Office Hours #88 [3] [1] http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780865477568 [2] http://candyprofessor.com/ [3] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH88_Kawash.mp3

In this episode, we talk with Colter Ellis [1], Assistant Professor of Sociology and the Center for Rural Studies at Sam Houston University. Professor Ellis recently published a piece in The Sociological Quarterly [2] that examines cattle producers' work in conventional U.S. beef production. We talk through his ethnographic project into how cattle producers express emotional connection to cattle, but also treat cattle as economic assets. Download Office Hours #87 [3] [1] http://www.shsu.edu/~soc_www/people/ellis.html [2] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tsq.12047/abstract [3] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH87_Ellis.mp3

Today we are joined by Kathryn Henne. Kathryn is a Research Fellow at the Regulatory Institutions Network, a research center housed at the Australian National University and also a fellow of the Research School of Asia and the Pacific. Kathryn joins us to talk about her article “The ‘Science’ of Fair Play in Sport: Gender and the Politics of Testing”, which will appear in the forthcoming issue of Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. We discuss the shifting models of sex testing used by the International Olympic Committee, efforts to enforce the male female binary, and assumptions about fair play and the natural body. Download Office Hours #86 [1] [1] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH86_Henne.mp3

Nicholas Kristof’s [1] recent critique of sociology, political science, and the humanities for effectively isolating themselves from larger and more public discussions of social issues has resulted in a myriad of academic responses. In this episode of the office hours we share the audio of a recent panel of faculty at the University of Minnesota including co-founder of the The Society Pages' Doug Hartmann [2], responding to Kristof’s essay. *If you are interested in hearing the question and answer session that followed this discussion, please follow this link to the Humphrey School of Public Affairs website [3]. Download Office Hours #85 [4]   [1] http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-professors-we-need-you.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0&referrer [2] https://thesocietypages.org/officehoursthesocietypages.org/doug-hartmann [3] http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/cspg/events/2014/0226.html [4] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH85_Kristoff_Response.mp3

Today we are joined by David Schalliol. David is currently in the sociology program at the University of Chicago. His work focuses on the processes that facilitate social organization and disorganization in urban context. David is the author of the photography book Isolated Building Studies. His recently published, photography filled essay “Debt and Darkness in Detroit” [1]can be found on The Society Pages. David joins us today to talk about the relationship between sociology and photography, and his use of both to understand the built environment. Download Office Hours #84 [2] [1] https://thesocietypages.org/specials/debt-and-darkness-in-detroit/ [2] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH84_Schalliol.mp3

In this episode, we talk with Brian Southwell about his new book, Social Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health: Sharing Disparities. Dr. Southwell is a Senior Research Scientist at the nonprofit research institute  RTI International. He is also a faculty member at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. He writes about human engagement with electronic information, especially with regard to science and health, and is interested the constraints of memory and the amplifying effects of social networks. Download Office Hours #83 [1] [1] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH83_Southwell.mp3

Zombies have taken a special place in our cultural imaginary—appearing in countless cult classics, B-grade horror movies, best selling literary novels [1] (and retellings of best-selling literary novels [2]), record breaking television shows [3], and are the inspiration for themed parades and pub crawls around the globe. In this episode, Jennifer Rutherford, sociologist, literary scholar, and Deputy Director of the Hawke Research Institute at the University of Southern Australia, helps us understand what can be learned from the cultural obsession. We discuss the power of the zombie as metaphor, the unrestrained drive of the undead, and the allure of becoming zombie at gatherings and celebrations. Download Office Hours #82 [4] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Z [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_and_Zombies [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(TV_series) [4] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH82_Rutherford.mp3

In this episode we talk with Benjamin Fleury-Steiner and Jamie Longazel about their new book, The Pains of Mass Imprisonmen [1]t [2]. Benjamin Fleury-Steiner is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. For more than a decade, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on inequality, mass imprisonment, and the death penalty. Jamie Longazel is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of Dayton. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of crime and punishment, law and inequality, and immigration. In this episode. we talk about how the authors emphasize the magnitude of mass imprisonment in the United States, especially of people of color by the voices and lived experiences of individuals. Download Office Hours #81 [3] [1] http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415518833/ [2] http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415518833/ [3] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH81_Fleury-Steiner_Longazel.mp3

In this episode, we talk with Emily Baxter, creator of the documentary project "We Are All Criminals [1]," where participants recall crimes they committed for which they were never caught. Emily is also the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Council on Crime and Justice [2]. In her work, she is responsible for development and implementation of the organizations' public policy agenda, services for individuals with criminal records, and education of employers to promote the hiring of individuals with criminal records. She is also the Fall 2013 Robina Institute Visiting Fellow [3] at the University of Minnesota Law School. Download Office Hours #80 [4] [1] http://www.weareallcriminals.com/ [2] http://crimeandjustice.org/ [3] http://www.robinainstitute.org/people/emily-baxter/ [4] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH80_Baxter.mp3

In this episode, we talk with Lucia Trimbur about her excellent new book Come Out Swinging: The Changing World of Boxing in Gleason’s Gym. Lucia is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at John Jay College, the City University of New York (CUNY) and Doctoral Faculty in Criminal Justice at CUNY’s Graduate Center. Her work has been featured in journals such as Qualitative Sociology, Ethnography, and the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. During our conversation, Lucia takes us inside the gym, discussing the shifting political economy of the boxing gym, the growing number of women practicing the sweet science, and the rise of white collar clients. Download Office Hours #79 [1] [1] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH79_Trimbur.mp3

Sociological Images [1] has achieved remarkable success by virtually any metric. Not only is it the most viewed Community Page on The Society Pages [2], but the website also receives around 500,000 visits every month, is ‘liked’ by almost 30,000 people on Facebook, followed by over 15,000 on Twitter, and has had work appear in notable news sites including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, TIME, the Guardian, Mother Jones, the National Review, and the Atlantic,. In this episode, Lisa Wade [3], Associate Professor at Occidental College and editor of Sociological Images, stops by to talk about her work. We discuss some of her favorite and most popular posts on the site, her work writing sociologically for other popular outlets, and finding time to produce research and write recently completed Sociology of Gender textbook all while managing the site. Download Office Hours #78 [4]. [1] https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/ [2] https://thesocietypages.org/ [3] http://lisa-wade.com/ [4] http://files.thesocietypages.org/downloads/OH78_Wade.mp3